Solar Panels on the Roof

Before a solar array can be mounted onto a roof, first verify your roof’s condition.  A compass or smart-phone can be useful for determining the slope direction of the roof. If the roof faces directly south, you can use an angled support to position the solar panels correctly.

It is also necessary to determine the pitch of the roof, which is measured in degrees, using a roof angle finder, a common tool used by professionals. Roof angle finders or magnetic polycast protractors are low cost tools. You can find one here . Using an angle finder, you simply press the tool against the rafters from the underside of the roof to determine its angle in degrees. Another way to do this is to use a protractor to measure the angle at the rafter’s base beneath the roof.

Solar panels are usually about 33-44 lbs (15-20 kg) in weight, but if many panels are put together in the frame, the weight can increase significantly. Therefore, the roof structure must be strong enough to hold the solar array and all of the necessary fixtures. There are several possible roof designs for a solar electric system installation, so it is impossible to cover all the available designs here. For a true assessment, you may want to hire either an architect or a builder to assess your roof for its suitability before mounting any solar panels. This is a good example of “better safe than sorry.”

For mounting kits for the roof, you can either purchase the kits from solar panels suppliers, or you may choose to customize your own.

Solar panels can also be mounted on the roof’s lowest portion. This has the advantage of making it easier to keep the panels clean and maintained, as they are more accessible for washing and inspecting than if they are placed higher up. To make the chore even easier, telescopic cleaning kits are available for cleaning roof-mounted solar panels.

See our article on positioning for references on the Solar Array .

Soolar panels on the ground

Another method for positioning solar arrays is to mount them on the ground with a frame, which can be either purchased or built on-site. Some of the benefits of a ground-mounted solar array include convenient cleaning and maintenance, along with the ability to re-position the frame angle at various times of the year so that maximum sunlight is received. If foundations are required to build your frame, make sure that the ground conditions are good and solid enough to hold it. You do not want your system sinking into the ground or sliding away from you.

One of the options for a ground-mounted frame is a movable frame, which you can use to track the sun throughout the day for maximum power. With such “solar trackers,” the amount of sunlight captured can be increased by 15-20 percent during the winter months, and up to 55 percent during the summer season.

It is unfortunate that solar trackers on the market today are often prohibitively expensive. It may be